Explore these examples of high-performance homes to get inspiration for your own energy-saving home projects.

• Design 1
  

  Best New Home 2019: 21st-Century Modern Farmhouse Gets the Big Things Right

  This compact, innovative home manages design and construction best practices on a budget.

• Design 2
  

  Build Like This

  A simple approach to building a super efficient house starts with six key elements.

• Design 3
  

  Best Energy Smart Home 2019: DIY Passive House

  This is the story of a house, a rain tank, an incredible view, and two homeowners who didn’t quite realize what they were getting themselves into.

• Design 4
  

  Deep in the Heat of Texas

  Insulation, air-sealing, and efficient mechanicals keep this house comfortable in the hot, humid weather

• Design 5
  

  Best New Home: Passive House Perfection

  This compact farmhouse achieves home building’s highest performance standard without a shred of aesthetic compromise

• Design 6
  

  Exploiting the Elements of Passive Design

  This home uses five systems to reduce its environmental impact, lower its operating cost, and improve its connection to the land.

• Design 7
  

  Best Energy Smart Home: A Higher Standard

  A practical design delivers a remarkably air-tight, super insulated home on a modest budget

• Design 8
  

  Best New Home 2018: Suburban Shift

  Timeless styling with a modern twist makes this new home stand out in a post-war New England neighborhood.

• 9
  

  Best Energy-Smart Home 2017: Net-Positive in New England

  This new home blends the nostalgia of a traditional Massachusetts farmhouse with the needs of a 21st-century family.

• Design 10
  

  Best Energy-Smart Home 2018: Neighborhood Net Zero

  This builder-friendly spec house fills out a narrow lot in a contemporary community.

• 11
  

  Best Traditional Home 2017: Federal Farmhouse

  A Vermont architect uses the state’s energy-efficiency guidelines to craft a new zero-energy home steeped in traditional character.

• 12
  

  Best Energy-Smart Home 2015: Stepping Off the Grid in Hill Country

  This Texas house borrows from the ground and the sky to achieve net-zero energy use and complete water independence.

• Design 13
  

  Best Energy-Smart Home 2014: Cold-Climate Collaboration

  A Maine architect designs Michigan’s first certified Passive House to be rooted in tradition, and outlines lessons for builders of custom homes

• Design 14
  

  Best New Home: Passive House Perfection

  This compact farmhouse achieves home building’s highest performance standard without a shred of aesthetic compromise

• Design 15
  

  Best Small Home 2019: Small and Skinny Spec Home

  This 1650-sq.-ft. urban home challenges market norms with a thoughtful modern design.

• Design 16
  

  Best Small Home 2018: Small House Has It All

  A little house on an urban infill lot leaves room for gardens and play, and lives larger than its diminutive footprint.

• Design 17
  

  High-Priority Energy Efficiency

  This home is headed to net-zero energy, with very little impact on its site.